With a disgusted grunt I rolled across the bed, out of her reach. " I'm no flower." I pushed the curtain of hair back behind my shoulders. Free of the braid, it felt cu besome and heavy. " But you are, Calla." she smiled. " My beautiful lily." " It's just a name, Mom." I bega to gather up my clothes. " Not who I am."

" It is who you are." I started at the warning note in her voice. " Stop doing that. It's not necessary." My hands froze on the T-shirt I'd grabbed. She waited until I placed the half-folded shirt back on the coverlet. I started to say something, but my mother held up a silencing hand.  " The new pack forms next month. You'll be alpha female."  " I know that." I fought off the urge to throw a dirty socks at her.  " I've known that sinces I was five." 

" And now it's time for you to start acting like it," she said. " Lumine is worried." " Yeah I know. Finesse. she wants finesse." I wanted to gag. " And Emile is concerned about what Renier wants," she said. " What Ren wants?" I said,  wincing at shrillness of voice. My mother lifted one my bras from the bed. It was plain white  cotton-the only kind I owned.

" We need to think about  preparations. Do you wear any decent lingerie?" 

The burning in my cheeks began again. I wondered if exessive blushing could cause permanent discoloration.

" I don't want to talk about this." 

She ignored me, muttering under her breath as she sorted my things into piles, which, since she'd ordered me to stooop folding, I could only presume were " acceptable" and  " to be discarded."